'Our security is gone'

A Norwalk family is suffering the loss of nearly all of their possessions after they said their home was ransacked and possibly burglarized.

Laura Ferraro reported the theft happened at 9:20 p.m. Sunday from their Midtown Manor home in Norwalk. Thankfully, she said no one was at home as the family was on vacation and her husband was at work.

“My husband, a truck driver, finally arrived home after being on the road to wash his clothes to find (our home in) disarray and immediately reported it to the police,” Ferraro said.

“Our (home) was ransacked and stripped of anything that held any value, even food. The home interior was trashed — clothing ripped off hangers and drawers pulled and boxes that were meant to be dropped off with items ready for donations were ripped open and scattered everywhere. They took TVs, game systems, collectibles, a washer and dryer, computers (and) the refrigerator was pulled from the wall. The electricity to the house was messed with from the outside of the home.”

Ferraro said the Norwalk Police Department told her “they could only file the report, but not much could be done ... because no one was hurt and there were no witnesses.”

“A report (was) filed with the Norwalk Police Department, but to my utter shock no fingerprints were taken,” Ferraro said on the family’s GoFundMe page she started in an effort to raise funds to replace the items.

“Upon my asking, the officer said that he only saw a disaster of clothing littering the floors. My husband and I were so shocked by his response that we said nothing else (and) watched as he left us in the mess we found ourselves in. Since we have no home insurance or coverage against burglary, we are (stuck). All we can do is clean up and begin our track once again to regain a little of what was lost. But our security is gone. I don't know if I can sleep well tonight, or any other night.”

Ferraro said her husband contacted Cashland the next morning and a staff member “said some items (matched) the descriptions my husband gave.” However, Sgt. Tom Cook said police found nothing matching the descriptions.

“(It) looks like it was actually reported as burglary and they said there were several things that were allegedly taken,” Cook said. “I think most of (the items) belong to Rent-A-Center. They were just leasing them, it looks like.”

Cook said police found the rear door was ajar. Also one window was broken, which he said may have been how someone could have gained access to the home.

The amount lost by the family was reported to be about $10,000. Cook said the department didn’t have any leads he was aware of.

“Not at the moment,” he said. “We’re currently checking Cashland and other pawn shops, but none of the allegedly stolen items were pawned in the Norwalk area. Officers went to both Cashlands and nothing was taken there. ... Cashland’s very good. They’ll notify us if anything turns up that matches the description of the list of items we gave them.”

“Everything we owned is gone, and we are a family of four with one working parent and an autistic child,” Ferraro said on the GoFundMe page.

“The floor was littered with our clothing, mostly ripped to shreds and some maliciously bleached beyond recognition. The list of items stolen was not long, but it's all we had worked hard to obtain or was gifted to us via family and friends throughout the years.

“I know I can't replace everything, but a little help starting again would ease much more than we could ask for. We will just have to begin again, climb to better options and belongings as time goes.”